FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS - PAGE 2

Powerfully reaffirming that effective legal representation is a key safeguard against injustice, the Supreme Court on Thursday reversed the death sentence of a Maryland man because his attorneys did not adequately defend him. In a 7-2 ruling, the court said inexperienced lawyers for Maryland Death Row inmate Kevin Wiggins deprived him of effective assistance of counsel when they failed to thoroughly investigate his background for potential mitigating...

Criminal defense lawyers are going to court to try to force the Chicago Police Department and other agencies to release data they used in a study that claims a reform of police lineup procedures does not work. The 2006 study claimed that police lineups in which witnesses are shown people or photos one at a time, instead of all at once, are less accurate. Since its release, the study has intensified a national debate between law enforcement groups that prefer the traditional method and reformers who want the "sequential double-blind" method to be universally adopted.

Dear Abby: Some time ago, you published a letter from "Depressed Down South," a nursing student who had been convicted of shoplifting. She worried constantly about how this might affect her future employment prospects. Your recommendation to get counseling to help "Depressed" deal with her emotional problems is right on the money. But there is something else she can do that can put her fears to rest. Abby, many states have laws that permit a one-time offender to have the conviction and/or arrest record "expunged," erased and/or set aside.

By Mark Shade NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The attorney for convicted child sex offender Jerry Sandusky said on Wednesday he plans to appeal the case, arguing that he was not given sufficient time to prepare for the high-profile trial of the one-time Penn State football coach. Joe Amendola said he plans to tell the appellate court he was an "ineffective counsel" due to lack of time not because his representation was flawed. Sandusky, 68, was convicted in June on 45 counts of child sex abuse charges in a case that rocked U.S. college football and raised awareness of child molestation.

Law school doesn't offer courses on "Defending the Difficult, Delusional or Mentally Ill." But such cases, dramatized last week by the bizarre courtroom behavior of Unabomber defendant Theodore Kaczynski, can be among the most difficult challenges a criminal defense lawyer faces, taking countless extra hours with little reward. "It's the hardest thing you can do," said Larry Pozner, president-elect of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "When they're sick, you can't explain patiently what the system is about.

Timothy Herring was under arrest in the slayings of a Chicago police officer and another man two years ago when a police lieutenant leading the investigation heard something as he walked past the locked interrogation room where Herring was meeting with a lawyer. "I heard Timothy having a conversation, but it was basically with himself, a one-way phone conversation, which was extremely odd since he's in a room with his attorney," testified Chicago police Lt. Brendan Deenihan, who said he went into the room and saw Herring, chained to a ring in the wall, end a call and hand the phone back to the lawyer.

(Reuters) - A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by New York businessman Paul Ceglia against Facebook Inc and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, adopting findings by a magistrate judge that a purported contract entitling him to an ownership stake in the company was fake, according to court documents. Ceglia's 2010 lawsuit against Facebook and Zuckerberg underlay a subsequent federal prosecution in Manhattan, in which Ceglia was accused of forging a 2003 contract with Zuckerberg that supposedly entitled him to a part-ownership interest in the social networking company.

The federal judge selected at random to hear the Republican Party's request to block hand counting of ballots in some counties in Florida is a lifelong Democrat who has long been active in liberal causes, from protecting children's rights to finding lawyers to represent Death Row inmates. Judge Donald Middlebrooks is also highly regarded by Democrats and Republicans, as well as prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers, who after working with him or appearing in his court widely agree that he is fair and thoughtful.

Drew Peterson will inevitably appeal his murder conviction, and his lawyers will just as inevitably raise several grounds for a new trial, from missteps by the team of Will County prosecutors to claims that Peterson's own attorneys provided him ineffective counsel. One of Peterson's attorneys, Joseph Lopez, even spoke after the verdict was read of taking the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Peterson's chances, several lawyers said, are not good. While many appeals are filed in criminal cases — thousands every year in Illinois' appellate courts — only a small percentage lead to new trials.